Innocence and Anger
by Katrynne
Summary: What happens when The Tsubasa gang meets a seemingly innocent Assassin for hire, and a cold hearted black-market-for-you runner in a world where these two odd companions plan to end it all.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Aysu, I've been looking all over for you."

"What do you want, Innya? Is there another job?" Aysu asked from the branch of a tree where she'd been resting.

"No, but I'm bored. Lets go have some fun." Innya replied with a playful smile.

"Hm... Usually I'd object to something so reckless, but I think I'll go along this time." Aysu said as she leaped down from the tree.

"You're actually coming? I wonder what's gotten into you?" Innya said sarcastically.

"Shut up before I change my mind." Aysu responded, unamused.

The two girls walked silently through the forest. Aysu was an albino with long silver hair and blue eyes that almost shone. She wore all white clothing which was a short sleeved top, a corset-looking piece on her torso, and clothing that wraped around her legs like a skirt. Inna was pale with long brown hair that was tied up, and blue eyes that were almost identical to Aysu's. She wore all-black clothing which included a tanktop that ended just before her stomach, sleeves that rested on her arms by themselves, and baggy pants. Both walked barefooted, except that Innya had bandages wraped around her feet.

It wasn't long before Aysu and Innya reached a small village. The two girls casually walked in, but amongst the crowd of poor villagers, they stuck out like sore thumbs. Everyone turned to look at them with curious eyes.

"May we help you, young ladies?" One of the villagers asked.

"Of course you can help us...." Innya said with a smile. "You can give us the satisfaction of killing you!"

In that instant Innya pulled out a white gun, that was slighly below average size, and shot the villager. Simultaneously, Aysu swung her arm, releasing a black whip that skewered quite a few bystanders. At that moment, the villagers went into a panic. They screamed, and tried to run away, but they were followed by many bullets which each hit the vital point of a different target. Aysu ran straight into the thick of the crowd, and swug her whip in a circular motion, killing the majority of the people around her.

As Innya attacked the helpless villagers, she was smiling widely. Over the sound of gunshots and screams, you could hear her giggling. She enjoyed taking the lives of others, and had no problem showing it. Aysu, on the other hand, showed no emotion whatsoever. She simply killed anyone in sight with neither remorse, nor any trace of enjoyment.

As soon as eveyone was dead, the two set fire to the village and left.

"Ahhh, that was refreshing!" Innya said while stretching. "Thanks for coming along for once, Aysu. You looked like you enjoyed yourself."

"Is that so?" Aysu replied.

"You bet it is! I know how much you hate small villages like that one. It reminds you of where you came from. And I know how much you secretly enjoy destroying things you dislike."

Aysu put a dark smile on her face as she turned to face Innya. "You're right, I did enjoy myself. Though, let me remind you that it's not just small villages that I hate.... I hate EVERYONE."

"Even me?" Innya said with a smile.

But before Aysu could respond, the two were interrupted by a strange occurance. A long, verticle black line, which looked like the cut of a sword, appeared in front of them. It widened to be the size of an average person. Then a figure began to emerge. First an arm, which gripped a sword, then a leg, and finally the entire person. It was a young boy with light brown hair, and one eye colored amber, the other a sparkling blue. He wore a sleevless chinese-style outfit with a marking on the front of it which resembled a bat. Though for Aysu and Innya, the thing that stood out most was this boy's face. It was completely emotionless, like he wasn't even human.

"Who are you?" Innya demanded, while putting her hand to her gun.

"I must find the feathers." They boy replied in a completely empty voice. "Where are they?"

"Feathers? What would you want those for?" Innya said curiously.

Aysu growled. "Who cares? If he can't explain himself, he dies."

Suddenly the boy's blue eye began to glow, and he looked around him. "I see. So there is a feather here. Then I must go and retrieve it." With that, the boy began to walk away.

"Not so fast!" Innya yelled as she drew her gun and shot. The boy, however, dodged easily then turned around and swung his sword in the direction of the two girls. Flames emerged from the blade of his sword and shot towards Aysu and Innya, who jumped out of the way and then turned towards the boy with wide eyes.

"What.... The hell was that....?" Innya said with concern. They had never seen any attacks like this.

"I don't know, but let's end this fast!" Aysu said as she pulled out her whip. She swung it at the boy over and over, but he dodged every stroke. Then a bullet hit the boy in the leg. However, he didn't fall or stagger.... Heck, he didn't even flinch.

"Don't you feel pain?!" Innya screamed as she shot her gun once again. But this time the boy held his hand in front of him with his index and middle finger sticking up. Suddenly strange, glowing symbols appeared around the boy in a circular motion. The bullet hit the symbols, and bounced off, hitting Aysu in the shoulder.

"What the - " Aysu exclaimed as she grabbed her shoulder.

Innya turned to see what damage had been done to her companion, but at that moment a large amount of flames were shot at her, which consumed her, and sent the young girl flying. Aysu gritted her teeth, and got ready to attack, but then more strange symbols surrounded the boy, and he disappeared.

"Damned brat!" Aysu exclaimed in frustration.

"Hey...." Innya said as she stood up, covered in burns. Her eyes had become dark and angry. "That boy.... Won't get away with this."

**********

"So.... How long are we gonna keep walking through this forest?" A tall, well built man with black hair, red eyes, all black armour and cloak asked with frustration.

"Now, now, Kuro-chan,be patient. It's not like we know where we are." A tall, extremely thin man with blond hair, a long white coat, and an eye patch replied.

"For the last time, stop it with those annoying nicknames!" Kurogane yelled his friend.

"Hey, Fai and Kurogane are friends! They shouldn't fight!"

"Ahhh, you're absolutely right, Mokona. So-rry." Fai said while giving Mokona a hug.

"I hope we find a village soon. It'll be dangerous for us to sleep in these unknown woods." A young boy with short brown hair and amber eyes said.

"Don't worry, Syaoran. As long as we have a bodyguard like Kuro-tan, we'll be fine!" Fai said playfully.

"Who's the bodyguard?!" Kurogane yelled as he pointed his now-drawn sword at the magician.

"Ahaha! It's just a joke, Kuro-pi."

"I said stop it with the names!" Kurogane screamed, beginning to loose his head.

"Are you tired, Princess Sakura?" Syaoran asked the young girl walking beside him.

"No, I'm fine." Sakura replied with an adorable smile. Syaoran smiled back.

But then suddenly two figures jumped down from the trees above them. When they landed, the group of friends could tell that they were two girls. One had silver hair and wore all white, and the other had brown hair and wore all black. Kurogane drew his sword, but the the silver-haired girl released a whip, which wraped around the blade of his sword. The wielder then pulled the blade from the samurai's hands. The brown-haired girl then revealed a gun, and pointed it at Syaoran's throat. The silver-haired girl picked up Kurogane's sword and pointed it at the boy as well.

"Finally, we've found you." The two women said with anger flaring in their eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

I am soooo sorry that it's so short! i just didn't want to get into the next part because it deserves a chapter to itself! sorry T-T

"We've finally found you." Innya growled to her captive, ignoring the brunette's companions and even her own. "I'm gunna kill ya for last time. I'm a bit of a sore loser ya see." Innya's playful, innocent smile contrasted her sadistic, blood-thirsty blue eyes.

"What?" her captive gasped.

"Syaoran!" a small brunette girl with innocent hazel eyes wailed. She ran forward to her companions' aid, but was shot back as Innya swiftly pulled out a second white gun and pulled the trigger. Although the gun was silent, the effect was obvious. The small girl fell to the ground, holding her hand over her chest, gasping in pain.

"Tsk-tsk. It's rude to interfere." Innya said, same smile, same eyes. "You're lucky I ran outta ammo. That's only a rubber shot; it'll definitely bruise, but it can't kill ya." Innya chuckled, "To bad though."

"Hurry up Innya. This is personal and I will interfere." Innya's albino-like companion growled menacingly.

"I know, I know…" Innya pouted, but her eyes would scare the hell out of the most experienced fighter, "But it's so much more fun to toy with 'em!"

"Innya…" Aysu warned.

"I know, I said, I nughf!" Innya was shot up and back by a kick from the brunette boy.

"I meant the kick…" Aysu said tonelessly. Innya landed painfully a few feet away.

"Could'a warned me sooner!" Innya whined, as she closed her eyes and wiped some blood off her chin. "Man! That's nothing compared to earlier! What happened to that spark from before? Ya know; the fire-works show?"

"Sakura!" the boy yelled as he ran to his fallen friend.

"Hey!" Innya yelled, getting an irk mark and really pissed off. "Ignore your girlfriend for a sec and answer me!"

"Uh-oh." Aysu's voice lacked the sense of warning that her voice should have as she said, well, more like stated, this, "You're probably going to regret making her mad."

"You. Are. So. Dead." Innya growled, losing the smile that had been spread across her face. Suddenly, a sound resonated from both girls pockets. Innya blinked, and then smiled again. But it seemed slightly more sadistic than before. Aysu reached into her pocket, a click was heard, and the sound stopped coming from her. Innya jammed her hand into her pocket and pulled out a flashing rectangular thing. Innya pressed a button on the side of it and said in a playful but forceful voice, "Hi-hi! Kinda busy here!"

"Can't you knock 'em out and save whoever it is for later Sis?" a male voice asked from the other end of the phone line. "That brown haired kid you called about is- hey! What the hell?! Get outta here!"

"I will find the feather. Where is the feather?" a painfully familiar voice was heard over the phone. Innya's eyes widened.

"Desya! Get out of there!" Innya yelled out as her brother screamed painfully and didn't respond. Footsteps were heard and the connection was cut off with a crunch. Innya crushed the phone in her hand and looked toward the ground. Her eyes could be seen shining through her bangs.

"Go ahead," Aysu said so Innya, "I'll catch up when I figure out what the hell is going on."

"Thanks." Innya said, her voice somehow not crazy or emotional, just as empty as Aysu's.

"You owe me, and don't do anything crazy." Aysu commanded.

"I know I owe you, but I'll do what's necessary." Innya replied as she ran off.


	3. Chapter 3

As Innya rushed past her companion, Aysu did not remove her eyes from the strange group of people in front of her.

"Hey, wench! Give me back my sword!" The tall one in black yelled.

"Kuro-chan, that's no way to talk to a woman!" The thin one said playfully.

"Shut up. You two are annoying me." Aysu said a little too calmly. "As for you...." She said, putting the sword once again at Syaoran's throat.

"Explain yourself. How can you be attacking Innya's brother, but also be here? And what happened to that.... Inhuman presence and power from before?"

"Please...." The brown-haired girl started as she stood up. "We can explain everything. There's no need to be violent. Just put down the sword, and we can talk."

"I have no reason to trust you and your friends, little girl." Aysu said, keeping the sword at Syaoran's throat.

"My name is Sakura. That is Syaoran. And over there is Fai, Kurogane and Mokona. What's your name?"

The assassin hesitated for a moment, then replied: "I am Aysu."

The girl named Sakura smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aysu."

After hearing that, Aysu's expression went dark. She raised Kurogane's sword, then brought it down, stabbing Syaoran in the torso. The group of friends gasped, and called out the name of their companion, "Syaoran-kun".

"You stupid girl! Don't ever act friendly with me! For that, you will die!" Aysu yelled at the young girl.  
Sakura cringed in fear. She had never felt such pure hatred. Fai and Kurogane readied themselves to attack Aysu, but they were cut off.

"The person.... attacking your friend's brother is not.... me." Syaoran said, while the sword remained stabbed in his body.

Aysu's anger mixed with curiosity as she looked at the boy on the ground. "Go on...." She instructed.

"He is a copy of me.... created by a man named Fei Wang...." Syaoran explained.

"A copy.... How do you 'copy' a human?" Aysu demanded.

"With.... Magic...." Syaoran answered.

Aysu sighed, and then removed the sword from Syaoran's body. But then out of nowhere, she kicked him hard in the head. "Don't take me for a fool. Only silly children believe in magic!"

"So magic doesn't exist in this world...." Kurogane said.

"Looks like it." Fai replied with a small smile.

That was it. Aysu was tired of listening to these ridiculous children. She picked up Syaoran by his shirt and stood him up, while placing the blade of Kurogane's sword at his throat. "All of you come with me. I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you refuse."  
As Aysu began to walk away with Syaoran, the others had no choice but to follow.

**********

It was like a nightmare. A vision of that which you fear most, seeming almost surreal. It can't be real.... She thought to herself. She hoped she would wake up. She would wake up and forget all about it. But she knew it was real. Even if she didn't want to believe it. Everything was real. The destruction, the flames, the scream.... The blood. The blood which belonged to that most important person....  
Innya saw the smoke before she reached the tiny village where her brother lived. When she got there, everything within sight was destroyed and flaming. And any people she could see were dead. But they didn't matter. There was only one person who mattered.

Innya rushed to the house where her brother lived. She could still sense life there. As she kicked down the door of the flaming building, she heard a scream. A scream that sent a shock of fear throughout her body. A scream that meant death.... And then there was blood. Blood that shined bright red in the light of the fire. She felt the blood's warmth against her skin as it landed on her face and clothing. As Innya's eyes widened, she saw a face. The face of a boy she had known to be so pure, it would make angels jealous. But that was not the face she saw now. Now, she saw fear.... And death.

Innya stared at her brother, lifeless and cut open, for what seemed like an eternity.

"You, again. Tell me where the feather is."

The lifeless, unemotional, inhuman voice pierced Innya like a blade to the heart. Finally, she looked up at the cause of all this chaos and destruction. The boy with brown hair and two different colored eyes.

"I shall repeat one last time: Where is the feather?"

Innya wanted to attack him. She wanted to destroy him. She wanted him to suffer for what he just did. But she couldn't move.

"I see. Then I am leaving." The boy said as he placed his raised index and middle fingers near his face. The strange symbols surrounded him, once again, and then he vanished.

The flaming house Innya stood in began to collapse. She knew she had to get out. She slowly approached her brother's corpse, and bent down to pick him up. She was shaking now. She almost couldn't do it. In a motion that held no meaning, Innya brought her brother's body out of the house, which collapsed behind her. She fell to her knees, clutching what remained of her beloved brother.

"Desya.... I'm sorry.... I should've.... I didn't.... Desya, please don't leave me.... Desya.... Desya!.... DESYAAAA!"

And then, everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Innya held onto her brother carefully, gently playing with the locks of his long brown hair. Footsteps could be heard coming up from behind her, and Innya turned around sharply, holding her brother with one hand and pulling out her gun with the other. A soft gasp was heard, and Innya cocked the gun to shoot.

"Innya." Aysu said, an almost unnoticeable tone of worry in her voice, "Innya, put the gun down." Aysu still had the brunette as a hostage, holding him in front of her with the blade to his neck. Innya's eyes widened with anger and fear at the sight of the familiar brunette.

"Y-You killed my brother!" Innya growled. Her eyes shone over with anger and insanity, "you killed him!"

"No! We can explain-" Sakura objected.

"How about this. Me killing him now, and taking questions and excuses later." Innya glared, and a loud shot rang out, followed by a thump. Aysu slid back from the impact force of the bullet, blood running from her shoulder. Empty clicks were heard as Innya continued to pull the trigger to the empty gun. Innya slid to the ground slowly, tears beginning to trace her cheeks.

"Calm down." Aysu growled through clenched teeth, "You're worthless emotional. You can't even hit a simple target."

"Shut up! I'm not worthless!" Innya screamed, as she threw the gun at Aysu due to the lack of ammo. The gun hit the ground before it reached Aysu and slid to her feet.

"Poor thing." Sakura murmured.

"Shut-up! I AM NOT A POOR ANYTHING!" Innya yelled, standing up quickly while still holding the boy in her arms. Some of the boys hair, that was identical to Innya`s, but stuck together with blood, slid down over her arm.

"Innya, sit down. Calm down." Aysu tried.

"Make me!" Innya screamed, holding her brother tighter.

"Innya." Aysu said, more firmly, knowing how dangerous Innya was when she was in her right mind; but with Innya in this state it could be really dangerous to everybody, including Innya. Also, Innya used a variety of bullets, including poisoned and explosive. 'I need to get this thing out of my shoulder.' Aysu thought.

"Just go away!" Innya yelled.

"Innya," Aysu said carelessly, "Do whatever the hell you want to do; just take the bullet out of-" Aysu twitched slightly as she glared at the spot Innya had been moments ago. She turned her glare to the group, "Where?" is all she said. The tall blond pointed to the left with a smile. Aysu's eyebrow twitched slightly and she grabbed Sakura by the collar of her dress and dragged the surprised girl behind her as she ran past the group of men after her friend.

Innya sat down on a fallen tree and glared at the big wall that stood in front of her. Small smoky shafts could be seen over the top of the wall, but it was evident that there wasn't too much damage to the area inside the wall. Aysu ran up from the woods behind Innya panting slightly.

"Innya." Aysu growled annoyed.

"Desya shouldn't have died." Innya said, sounding like she wasn't there; instead, a far corner of her darkened mind. Aysu didn't say anything. "He was so nice, he never hurt a soul! He even defied society for me!" Innya played with her brother's hair as she thought back to her childhood.

_(A cold snowy day; Innya and Desya are around seven)_

"_Innya! What happened to your hair?" Desya gasped as he stared at his sister's butchered haircut._

"_You're my twin, so I want to look like you." Innya looked to the side, embarrassed, "But it's not proper for boys to have long hair so..."_

"_But girls shouldn't have short hair!" Desya laughed. Innya huffed; if she looked like a boy maybe her father wouldn't marry her off to some rich guy that's way too old for her. "Okay, how about this: We'll grow our hair to the lower back." Desya suggested as he looked for scissors to fix his sister's hair._

"_But that's too long for a boy!" Innya objected._

"_We've already swapped roles, I'd make a better house wi- husband. And you'd make a better assassin than me. Who cares about me when I won't be accepted anyways? Now sit down and let me fix that sad excuse for a haircut." Desya chuckled._

"_Hey! I did that myself!" Innya whined._

"_I can tell." Desya grinned._

"_HEY!" _

"Yea..." Aysu said. The large group ran up behind Aysu.

"Let Princess Sakura go!" The brunette boy yelled, panting slightly. Innya glared at him and pulled out her second gun; but the gun was removed from her hands in one swift, gentle movement by the tall blond man who stood behind her. He smiled down at her and she glared in return.

"I'm sorry about your brother, I truly am. But Syaoran didn't kill him!" Sakura cried out.

"It was him!" Innya yelled, tears returning to her eyes, "I **saw** it! I **watched **my brother get killed by him!"

"Impossible. I apologise, but I believe we were with your friend the entire time, were we not, Miss?" The tall blond said.

"They were, Innya, I don't know who killed Desya." Aysu frowned.

"That's... impossible. I saw it. It was him! It looked just like him!" Innya pointed a trembling finger towards Syaoran.

"No! Syaoran wouldn't hurt anyone!" Sakura objected.

"Innya, he was with me... I had Blackie's sword to his throat. It couldn't be him." Aysu said, with a frown.

"HEY! The name's Kurogane! Not 'Blackie'" the dark man yelled. "And we already told you who it was dammit!"

"Yes, because we all know how people have random copies of themselves running around terrorising innocent assassins." Aysu said sarcastically, "Honestly, do you take us for fools?"

"Aysu..." Innya murmured solemnly, "Step over here. I need to take that out within the next 40 seconds." Aysu wasted no time in getting over to her companion. Innya pulled out two long ominous looking acupuncture needles and Aysu sat in front of her friend, who was quick to remove the bullet from the wound. Not even a second later a high pitched 'squeal' came from the bullet that had been removed. Innya kicked Aysu away and closed her hands around the bullet tightly. A muffled 'Bang' was heard and Innya flinched. She opened her hands and several bullet fragments fell to the ground. Innya frowned at the shredded skin.

_(In a small, dimly lit room an eleven year old Innya sits at a desk with various elements that sit in test tubes on the tray in front of her; also, vials of blood in a separate rack.)_

_Innya picked up one of the blood-filled vials gingerly. With her open hand she reached for a metallic, silvery element that had a putrid smell. She carefully tipped the sample of the metal into the vile of blood and the reaction was immediate. The vile heated up and exploded in her hands with a loud 'Bang'. Innya whimpered slightly from the pain._

"_Innya!" Desya called from at the top of the stairs. Innya tried to hide her hands as she heard footsteps come towards her, "Innya! What did you do? Are you okay?" Desya gasped to his sister. He glimpsed at her hands and sighed. "Innya..."_

"_Brother! I found the right one!" Innya grinned, holding out her hands to her twin who grabbed some bandages from the shelf. He sighed and ran his hand through his shoulder-length brown hair._

"_What am I going to do with you?" he grimaced as he began to pull the glass from his sister's hands carefully._

"That was just plain stupid." Aysu muttered.

"Hm?" Innya looked to Aysu, "Better my hands then your shoulder. I'll just bandage them up." Aysu smirked. Innya sadly smiled back. Aysu turned to face the tall wall, and frowned.

"Innya." Was all Aysu said.

"You noticed too." Innya's sad smile turned into a sadistic one. There was silence for a few seconds. "Only my cousin knew that Desya had my mother Heirloom, that feather."

"I'm not going in there. That's not anything more than suicide. Don't ever kill out of personal sentiment, there is no reward." Aysu stated dryly.

"But it'll be easy! All we have to do is-" Innya was cut off.

"No." Aysu said finality in her tone.

"Fine," Innya said with a cocky smirk. She stood up and looked Aysu in the eyes.

"You're going to be killed." Aysu bluntly stated.

"Will I?" Innya asked with a naive, but fake, smile.

"You're crazy." Aysu frowned.

"Am I?" Innya asked, as she closed her eyes to create a picture of innocent naivety, to cover up the sadistic insanity that was now her mind.

"Yes." Aysu muttered.

"I'm still going." Innya said, reaching down and picking up the corpse that she hadn't let out of her site.

"My point proven." Aysu sighed.

"My gun?" Aysu tossed it over to Innya, who easily caught it and put it away. She then turned towards the tall blond. She walked up to him, smiled, and took the gun back. "See ya!" Innya said with a wave over her shoulder, blood still dripping from her hands still, as she disappeared into the forest.


	5. Chapter 5

Innya carefully and quietly searched the floor of the forest for the entrance to the secret passageway that lead into her cousin's mansion. Her father had been the only one who knew about it before he told Desya, who was in training at the time. It was a good thing Desya had told Innya about it when they were kids. Now Innya could enter the mansion without wasting energy on the guards outside.

Once Innya found it, she slipped into the narrow underground passage and proceeded towards the mansion. Once inside, she sneaked around undetected as much as possible, until one of the many guards spotted her. It was time to fight.

While the surprised men struggled to bring out their ordinary handguns, Innya swiftly gripped her two trademark white guns and shot at them. This time her guns were loaded with explosive rounds, though she carried more varieties on her. Every bullet hit its mark, and killed a guard. In no time, everyone was dead. Innya reloaded her guns, and continued on to find her cousin.

**********

Aysu walked quickly through the forest, though the strange group of people still followed her.

"Hey, why are you still following me?!" Aysu demanded angrily.

"Well, because we don't know our way around. And you and your friend are the only people we know." Fai said with a chuckle. Aysu growled.

"Where did your friend Innya run off to?" Syaoran asked.

Aysu glared at him for a moment, and then said: "She's gone to take care of some family affairs. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"Is that so? Earlier you said it was a suicide mission." Kurogane replied.

"What's your point? That doesn't make it anyone's business. Not mine, and certainly not yours." Aysu said firmly.

"But she's your friend! If she dies - "Sakura was cut off by Aysu.

"Let's get one thing straight; she's not my friend. I don't have friends. We're together because we have the same interests: making money and killing people. And if she's so weak that she would walk right into a trap over a personal battle, then I don't need her as a partner." Aysu explained.

"What a horrible thing to say." Sakura said to her.

The assassin didn't reply, and kept walking. The travellers followed.

"You know, storming the rich guy's mansion sounds like fun." Kurogane said with a smirk.

"Not fun. It would be a pain in the ass." Aysu replied.

"Alone, I'm sure it would be. But we don't mind helping you out." Fai offered.

Aysu laughed hysterically. "_You_ lot? Don't be absurd! Only the man in black has the skill to go along on something like this, but even then it's not enough. The rest of you are weaklings. You'd be useless!"

"What if there was a reward in it for you?" Fai said with a smile. His companions looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Aysu glared with a curious look in her eyes. "Go on."

**********

"Die you bastards!" Innya yelled as she furiously shot at the guards, who had increased in both number and skill. This meant that she was getting close to her cousin.

Innya had received very little damage so far, though she was running out of bullets. She needed to get to her cousin fast. Innya stopped for a moment to listen. She overheard the guards yelling at each other, and learned that her cousin was in the far room just down the hallway. That was perfect. Innya reloaded her guns and ploughed through the guards, killing them all quickly.

Then she burst into the room where her cousin was, only to have to avoid more gunshots. They came from two men who were protecting her cousin. Innya shot them down easily. Now it was only her and her cousin.

"My, my. If it isn't my rebellious cousin Innya."

"Shut up Feodor! I've come to end your god-damned life!" Innya yelled as she pointed her guns at her cousin, Feodor. He was tall and aristocratic, with short well-kept brown hair, and green eyes. He wore a fancy grey suit, and held a glass of red wine in one hand.

"End my life? Now why would you want to do that?" He said, putting on a sad face.

"Don't play innocent! I know you told that killer where Desya was, and that he had the feather, you murderer!" Innya yelled.

"Did I?" Feodor said with a smirk.

"I know you; you'd do anything to save your own ass! And I also know that the feather is here in this mansion! Desya told me he entrusted it to you!"

Feodor said nothing in response. He took a sip of his wine, and then set the glass down on a nearby table. "Ha! It's a pity that strange child didn't kill you as well." Innya gritted her teeth at that comment. "You're a disgrace to this family, you and your brother."

Innya's anger flared. "Silence! We're not a real family, and we never have been!"

"That's right. And it's all because of you and Desya. If the two of you had just accepted your roles, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"Shut up!" Innya yelled.

"A man is worthless if he can't make money, and a woman is useless as an assassin!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"However, you brother has finally been eliminated, and now it's _your_ turn, YOU WENCH!"

But in that instant, a strange sound was heard. Feodor's eyes widened with fear, and then his entire upper body was sliced into pieces. Innya gasped, and swung around to see Aysu with her trademark black whip, followed by the group of travellers.

"Humph! That'll show him to say women are useless as assassins." Aysu said with a cocky voice.

"Aysu...." Innya muttered, unsure of whether to be grateful or angry.

"Don't look at me like that." Aysu said to her companion. "As I said before, there's no reward in killing out of sentiment. I did you a favour. Oh, and by the way, thanks for killing all the guards inside, it made my job go a lot quicker."

"But, why are you even here?" Innya demanded.

"They made me." Aysu said, pointing to the group of travellers. Fai waved at Innya, who didn't respond. "Apparently, the blond guy has a method of detecting the whereabouts of the other so-called 'Syaoran'. We agreed that if I came to help you, they would help us find your brother's killer and let us do whatever we want to him."

"I see...." Innya replied, while she processed this new information.

"But listen," Aysu said in a voice that the others couldn't hear. "Once we have that other kid, I'll let you do the honours of killing him, since he murdered your brother. Meanwhile, I'm going to take in the innocent one for the bounty. They're offering a _huge_ amount for bringing him in alive because of all the towns that have been destroyed and the number of people that have been killed. Since he's identical to the real culprit, no one will know the difference."

"Yeah, I get it. This way we get revenge _and_ the money." Innya said with a smirk. "But what do we do about the others?"

"We can just kill them. They're not from around here, so nobody will care."

Innya smiled. "Aysu, you truly are despicable."

Aysu replied with an evil smirk.

"Guys! It's the feather! I can feel it getting closer to us!" Mokona yelled as its eyes widened, and it jumped up onto Sakura's shoulder.

"That thing talks?!" Innya and Aysu exclaimed in unison.

"Where is it, Mokona?" Syaoran demanded.

"The door!"

Everyone turned around to see a woman in a fancy white dress, with brown eyes and blond hair standing at the door with the feather in her hands.

"Who the hell is that?!" Kurogane asked.

"That's....Ceren, the king's daughter...." Aysu said with surprise.

"But what's she doing here?" Innya wondered.

Ceren laughed with the voice of a little girl. "It's quite simple. I am Feodor's wife. I married him because he was one of the wealthiest men in the nation."

"I don't believe it.... Feodor married the princess...." Innya muttered.

"That's right. Though to be perfectly honest, I'm not disappointed at all that you killed him. I had been planning his death for some time now, but you all just saved me the trouble of going through with it, and having to cover for myself."

"How can you say such awful things? He was your husband! For what reason could you want him dead?" Sakura yelled at Ceren.

"Ah ha ha! Because I wanted this." The princess said as she held up the feather. "Once I realized the power this feather possesses, I wanted it! But Feodor wouldn't even let me touch it! The fool.... He had no right to keep it from me, his wife! And now he's dead, so the feather rightfully belongs to me."

"Wrong." Syaoran said as he stepped forward. "That feather belongs to princess Sakura. Give it back!"

"I don't think so." Ceren said with a smile. Suddenly the feather started to glow, and she disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

Innya walked out of the room, extremely disappointed in the fact that she hadn't been the one to kill her cousin. At least she had the rights on the second Syaoran. She was walking down the narrow hallway and Syaoran was close behind her, watching her anxiously, as if she was a bomb about to explode.

"Do you have a proble-aahhhHH!" Innya screamed as the floor underneath her caved in and she was instantly sliding down a slide, with Syaoran right behind her. "Why the hell are you here?!" She yelled over the wind that swiftly ran past the two. Suddenly the slide ended and they landed with a thump.

"Princess Sakura!" Syaoran yelled, searching for his love.

"She's not here... It's just us." Innya sighed, irritated by the wonderful prank that life decided to play on her.

"How do we get out of here?" Syaoran questioned, looking around.

"It's a maze, knowing my cousin, with traps. There might not even be a way out. Although I'm sure I could make on." Innya grinned cruelly. "If you hold me back, I'll kill you."

**********

"Where the hell did they go?" Kurogane asked, looking around. Both of the brunettes had fallen through a trap door and disappeared as the doors closed. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't get through.

"Damn.... I should have expected as much from Innya's family. We were reckless." Aysu growled.

"May I ask what you're talking about? By Innya's family, I mean." Fai asked curiously.

"Heh. Her family specializes in the art of assassination. From a very young age, as young as the first day they walk, they are taught in the art of ruthless killing. In bloody ways so beautiful you wouldn't imagine and-" Aysu cut herself off, realising how excited she was getting over the thought of ruthless murder. "Let's go." She muttered.

"Eeeaaahhhhhh!" Sakura sceamed.

"What's wrong?" Aysu sighed, not really wanting to know.

"Kurogane and Fai! They were pulled into the wall!" Sakura ran over to the wall and started banging on it. "Kurogane! Fai! Can you hear me!?"

"I don't think they can..." Aysu sighed again. "Let's go."

"But what about my friends? And yours!" Sakura objected.

"Whatever. They can find their own way out." Aysu said, walking away. "You can either come with me or get left behind. It's your choice."

"Ah! Wait!" Sakura whimpered, running after Aysu. She crashed into the assassin, and they sprawled out onto the floor, almost falling down a flight of stairs. Aysu stood up and glared down at Sakura.

"Watch where you're going, you clumsy runt! In case you havn't yet realized, I don't have a problem with killing -" Aysu started, but was cut off.

The carpet suddeny pulled back, causing Aysu to fall towards the stairs, which opened up and revealed another slide. Sakura grabbed onto Aysu's arm, but was pulled in with her.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Sakura screamed.

**********

"Kuro-pii~ where are we?" Fai whined.

"Like hell I know!" Kurogane growled, "AND ENOUGH WITH THE NICKNAMES!" Suddenly Mokona started waving around its hands.

"Guys! I sense strong magic!" the little rat thing burst out. Both men got on guard.

"Hurry up, and gimme my sword." Kurogane said to Mokona. The sword popped out of its mouth and Kurogane grabbed it. Fai readied himself to fight. "Come on out! We know you're there!" Kurogane yelled.

Suddenly a man cloaked in all black came out. His black hair was cropped short and his dark red eyes shone viciously. A tall blond man with blue eyes followed, glaring at the two. Kurogane and Fai stared with surprise at the two figures that were identical to them. The second  
Kurogane attacked the original Fai, and the second Fai shot a powerful blast of magic at the original Kurogane.

"Ah..." Fai gasped quietly as the fake Kurogane's sword dragged across his chest. "That hurt a bit, you know. Do you think you could leave us be?" Fai asked with a hopeful smile.

Meanwhile Kurogane was hit with a very powerful fire ball. "Damned magician..." Kurogane growled.

"I think we might be in a little bit of trouble." Fai said as he smiled half-heartedly, and jumped away from his opponent.

**********

Innya and Syaoran had been walking for well over an hour in silence.

"Where is the exit to this maze?" Syaoran sighed.

"It wouldn't be a maze if we knew that." Innya stated flatly. Suddenly they came across a door. "A door....?" Innya asked. She went to open it.

"Wait! It could be a trap." Syaoran said, pulling her hand back carefully.

"Or it could be the way out." Innya stated.  
Syaoran pondered what the girl had said, and then let her hand go. She opened the door and walked in. Up against the walls was about a dozen large tubes filled with a murky liquid. Some of the tubes had small animals in them, and one even had a young girl. Syaoran stared at the tubes, shocked by what he was seeing. But Innya walked forward, ignoring them. She was staring, wide-eyed, at a man who stood cloaked in front of them.

"Brother...." Innya said in a voice that was no more than a whisper. "Desya!" Innya yelled out as she ran up and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were dead." She whispered into his shoulder.

"That wasn't me. Well, not the real me." Desya smiled down to his sister.

"What?" She asked confused.

"A clone, sweet." He smiled kindly, "You remember that research I was telling you about?" Innya nodded. "That's what I've been working on. Cloning."

"I see... So that was a clone?" Innya asked, innocently.

"Yes it was, love." Desya said as he pulled out Innya's high ponytail.

"Brotherrrrr, don't take out my ponytail!" Innya protested as she stuck out her tongue. "My hair'll get in my face!"

"Oh well." Desya chuckled as he started to play with his sister's hair. "Sister, I need you to listen carefully, okay?" Hesaid as he held her closer. "You have to kill Aysu."

"What?!" Innya gasped, "B-but she's our friend! We've been friends forever! Since I killed mother and father!"

"I know, but she's going to hurt you." Desya held her close again, and Innya couldn't see the cruel sadistic smirk that flew over his face. Syaoran was about to yell out, but suddenly two people dressed in solid black from head to toe grabbed him and gagged him, also tying him up and throwing him into a cage. "She's getting jealous Innya, because you're stronger than she is. She's afraid that all the work is going to go to you and then she won't have anything to live off of."

"But we've always worked together!" Innya objected.

"Yes, but she didn't originally come with you here, did she? She let you go expecting you to die, and you know that. She only showed up as soon as there was no chance of you getting killed. Right?" Desya explained in a hypnotically soothing voice.

"Yes, but..." Innya had no defence for her friend.

"She's going to kill you, Innya. I don't want that to happen, and the only way to avoid it is for her to die first." Desya soothed.

"But..." Innya whispered.

"You can kill her for me, can't you? I know I'm not strong enough for the job, but I don't want you to get hurt. So tell me, can you kill Aysu?" Desya asked.

"I... I can." Innya gave in.

**********

"That was hard!" Fai sighed. Kurogane just grunted, wiping a little bit of blood out of his eyes.

The two clones of them had been very difficult to beat but they eventually managed to kill them. The two walked towards a doorway that was at the end of the room. Once they got through they saw Innya being held by a boy that looked very familiar. It was the boy that Innya had almost killed them over; her brother. Suddenly, before either man could yell out a greeting, they were grabbed from behind, gagged, tyed up, and thrown into a cage with solid walls of glass. Much to their surprise, Syaoran was already there. The bars were closed over top of them and they began to work at getting untied.

**********

"Look! An exit!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hn." Was all Aysu said. They walked towards the opening and wound up in a hallway with a door at the end.  
Aysu and Sakura walked towards the door, Aysu in front of Sakura by about five feet. Sakura gasped softly as somebody grabbed her from behind and pulled her through a passage in the wall that immediately closed. Aysu turned around and frowned when she saw that the young girl, who had been hounding her with questions since they were left alone, was not there anymore. She sighed in annoyance but walked forward anyways.

"I warned her that I would leave her behind." Aysu muttered. She opened the door slowly and cautiously. She came into a long room that had huge tubes surrounding the walls on both sides. At the end of the room stood Innya. And in a thrown-like chair, sat Desya.

"Oh my God! Desya!" Aysu actually smiled at her friend. He smiled in return, but instead of answering with a greeting, he nodded his head towards his sister.

"Innya." Was all he said. Innya nodded and glared at Aysu, and pulled out one of her white guns.

"Innya? What are you doing?" Aysu frowned.

"You lied to me." Innya stated. There was no feeling, and it seemed that Innya herself didn't even believe the statement. "You were going to kill me."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Aysu yelled at her partner in crime. "Don't play games with me, Innya. Put that thing away."

"No." Innya simply stated, as tears began to form in her eyes. "Brother... you're sure?" Innya questioned, not wanting to do what she was about to do.

"Positive. Now do it, Innya." Desya replied, glaring at Aysu. Who glared right back.

"You're not Desya. What the hell have you done to Innya!?" Aysu yelled.

"I am Desya. And I've done nothing to my sister, right love?" He smiled over at Innya, who nodded, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"LIES!" Aysu yelled, running forward to end the imposter's life. Suddenly two shots rang out, one hit Aysu in the right leg, and the other hit her in the left shoulder. She stared in shock at her closest friend, who now had tears falling down both cheeks in steady streams.

"I don't know what's going on here," Aysu said as she held her shoulder, and struggled to stay on her feet. "But if you insist on a fight, then I'll show you no mercy!"

Aysu then steadied herself, drew her black whip, and readied herself for battle.


	7. Chapter 7

"Since you insist on fighting, Innya, then I will show you no mercy!" Aysu stated as she got ready for battle.

Innya raised her white guns and started to shoot at Aysu, who dodged with slight difficulty due to the hole in her leg. As soon as Aysu found an opening, she swung her whip at Innya relentlessly. Innya dodged as best she could, but managed to get a scratch on her arm. Without even flinching, Innya immediately shot one of her guns, which grazed Aysu's cheek. The two jumped away from each other, and stood there staring at each other while they thought about their next move.

"You really are out to kill me...." Innya stated sadly. "I can tell you aren't holding back at all."

"The only reason I'm fighting you all-out is because _you_ challenged me, and I know how strong you are. Don't confuse it with this imposter's lies." Aysu stated as she glanced at Desya, who responded with a smile.

"You're the one who's lying! And don't you dare call my brother an imposter!" Innya shouted as she shot at Aysu, who avoided it. However, she stumbled a little, as moving around like this only made the wound in her leg worse. And besides that, the bullet could have been poisoned. Aysu knew she had to end the fight quickly.

"Innya, listen to me. I know he looks like your brother, but think about it; would Desya really have asked you to do something he knew would hurt you so much? Besides that, we both saw his corpse. I'm sorry, but Desya is dead."

"Just shut up!" Innya yelled at her friend. "The Desya that was killed was a clone, it wasn't Desya! Desya's right here! And as soon as this is over, we can finally live together in peace! I won't let a lying backstabber like you stop us!"

"Ridiulous...." Aysu said with a frustrated sigh. "I knew sooner or later something like this would happen. You and your emotions were always so fragile. Especially when it came to Desya. It was only a matter of time before someone realized your one weakness and used it against you."  
_  
__(7 years ago, Innya 10yrs, Aysu, 12yrs)___

_"Look, kid. You're good, I'll give you that, but I can't let you go on missions alone. Besides the fact that you're too young, you're a girl! Seriously. If you can find a partner, we'll let you handle jobs, but not until then. Okay?"___

_"Fine..." Aysu said, with an upset tone. She knew he was only saying this cause no one would partner up with a kid, let alone a girl. Not that Aysu cared. None of the people around her were worthy of being her partner anyway.___

_Aysu walked through a large forest alone, thinking about what to do about the partner situation. She could always just threaten someone.... But before she could continue her thoughts, another kid around the same age came running up. The kid stopped abruptly, surprised to see someone else. Aysu examined the kid closely. It looked to be a boy with short brown hair, black torn clothes, and blood smeared all over his face. Though after a moment, Aysu realized that this kid was actually a girl.___

_"Who are you?" Aysu asked curiously. ___

_The boyish girl hesitated for a moment, then answered, "Innya's my name. What about you?"___

_"Aysu. What's with the blood? Did you kill someone?" Aysu asked with a smirk, expecting the answer to be no.___

_"That's right. I killed my parents. What are you going to do about it?" Innya said firmly. Aysu stared curiously. She could sense a strong bloodlust from this girl, and Aysu could tell that she definitely had talent in the art of killing. ___

_"I don't really care that you killed your parents, actually." Aysu replied with a shrug. Then she thought of something. "Say.... You wouldn't happen to be interested in killing for a living, would you?" Innya stared wide-eyed. "You see, I need a partner in order to be qualified for the job, but I'm not gonna settle on just anyone. I need a powerful fighter. Think you can handle it?"___

_Innya's mouth spread into a childish smile. "Sounds like fun." Aysu smirked. Finally she would be able to do what she loved most: killing. Not to mention she could teach those assassin-wannabes how to really get the job done.___

_Before the two girls could continue talking, an older boy came running towards them. "Innya! Wait up! Don't leave me behind!" He yelled. ___

_"Desya!" Innya exclaimed with a smile. "Sure took you long enough!" ___

_Aysu stared at the boy, who could have been Innya's twin. "Who's this?" ___

_"Oh, this is my brother Desya. Desya, this is my new friend Aysu. We're gonna be partners and kill people for a living!" Innya exclaimed happily.___

_"Haha! Sounds like a job that suits you!" Desya laughed as he patted Innya on the head. "Aysu, huh? Nice to meet you." Desya said, holding his hand out to shake with Aysu. But Aysu didn't retutn the gesture. ___

_"A brother, huh? Could be a problem...." Aysu muttered to herself. Innya and Desya stared at her. "Are you sure he won't.... Get in the way?" Aysu said to Innya.___

_"Don't worry about Desya, he'll be fine! Now tell me more about this job that involves killing people." ___

_Aysu nodded, but still felt uneasy. She didn't like the idea of her partner having a dependant, but what could she do? She probably wouldn't find another worthy partner for years. Well, there was nothing she could do now. Besides, it's not her brother. If anything happens to him, Innya could take the fall for it, and Aysu would just have to find a new partner.___

_(End flashback)__  
_  
"I always knew he'd be your undoing." Aysu said with a regretful tone.

"Shut up!" Innya yelled as she raised her guns again and shot.

Aysu went to dodge, but her wounded foot sent her falling to the ground. Luckily, none of the bullets hit her as she fell, but now she couldn't walk on her right foot. This was bad. Innya walked up beside Aysu and pointed one of her guns at Aysu's head.

"Desya may be my weakness.... But I love him!" Innya stated with tears flowing out of her eyes. "And someone like you, who doesn't have the capacity to love others, can't possible understand!"

"You know damn well why I don't get personally involved with anyone! And part of that reason is exactly what's happening to you right now!" Aysu yelled angrily at Innya.

Innya smirked. "Oh yes, I'd nearly forgotten. You _used_ to have feelings outside of hatred and greed.... Before your family betrayed you." Aysu gritted her teeth. "Funny, huh? Your own family sold you out to the Black Market for a bit of money, and now you've been trying to kill me for your own profit."

"Don't you dare.... Put me on the same level as those bastards!!!" Aysu screamed with a furious glow in her eyes.

Despite her leg, Aysu kicked Innya's gun out of her hand. As Innya, who was surprised by that action, went to shoot with the other gun, Aysu jumped to her feet, grabbed Innya's arm and twisted it behind her back, causing Innya to let out a yelp of pain. Aysu grabbed the remaining gun from Innya's hand, and put it to the back of her neck.

"Aysu...." Innya said in a voice that showed she was in pain.

"Shut the fuck up! This game has gone on long enough! Seeing as you won't listen to reason, and since you decided to make it personal for me, I'm going to have to kill you." Aysu stated with no hesitation whatsoever. In fact, she sounded eager to take Innya's life.

"Stop, or you die." Came a voice from behind Aysu. Aysu turned her head to see Desya right behind her, holding Innya's other gun to her back.

"You son of a bitch..." Aysu said in a low, murderous voice. Desya smirked.

"Hold it, pal." Came another voice. Desya turned his head to find two swords at his throat, wielded by Kurogane and Syaoran. Desya, Aysu and Innya looked to the back of the room, where Fai stood with Mokona on his shoulder and a bunch of men cloaked in black unconscious on the floor.

"You managed to break out of that cage so soon?!" Desya said with surprise.

"This madness has gone on long enough. Tell us the truth about what you are, and why you're making these two fight each other." Syaoran demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Desya said with a smile.

"We've been listening to you guys talk the entire time, and it's pretty clear that you're not the real Desya." Fai stated, with a serious tone.

"Look, you either talk now, or your head comes off!" Kurogane challeged.

For a few minutes, everyone stood there in silence waiting for Desya to repond. But then the sound of a door being open could be heard, and everyone's attention went to the main entrance of the room. When it was completely open, the group could see a well-dressed young man with green eyes and blonde hair holding Princess Sakura at knife-point.

"Princess Sakura!" Syaoran exclaimed with worry.

"Damn...." Kurogane muttered.

"Wait.... Aren't you... The crowned Prince?!" Innya inquired with surprise.

"Yes I am." The Prince replied. "Now I suggest you strangers remove your swords from Desya's throat. I don't think I need to tell you what will  
happen to the girl if you don't." The Prince pressed the blade of the knife closer against Sakura.

Reluctantly, Syaoran and Kurogane did as instructed. The Prince put on a small smile of satisfaction.

"Now, Desya, come with me. We're leaving this place." The Prince commanded.

"But...." Desya tried to protest as he looked at Innya, who was still being held by Aysu.

"Don't disobey me. I said come."

"Yes...." Desya said, reluctantly.

"Wait, Desya! You're not really going with him, are you?! I know you, you have no reason to obey him! Please... please stay with me!" Innya begged with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Innya... I'm sorry." Desya said mournfully as he followed the Prince, who took Sakura with him as they left.

"No.... Desya...." Innya said as tears flooded down her face.

"You see, Innya.... I told you.... That wasn't...." Aysu said as she fell to ground unconcious.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Syaoran exclaimed as he and Kurogane went to help the assassin.

"What's wrong with her?" Kurogane asked.

"It's.... a poisoned bullet." Innya said through her still-constant tears. The whole group gasped.

"We have to do something fast, or she'll die!" Fai exclaimed with true worry. "You must have an antidote...." They all turned to Innya, who was sitting on the floor, with her face buried in her knees.

"Yeah...." Innya replied in a voice that was no more than a whisper.

"Well then hurry up and give it to her!" Syaoran exclaimed. But Innya didn't move.

"Damn it, you stupid woman!" Kurogane yelled as grabbed Innya by her shirt, and pulled her to her feet. Innya stared at him, shocked by the action. Kurogane proceeded to go through her pockets, searching for the antidote. He pulled out many bullets, among other things, until he finally found a tiny vial containing a purple liquid. "This it?"

Innya just looked away. That was enough for Kurogane to know that the liquid was indeed the antidote. He let go of Innya and proceeded to administer it to Aysu.

**********

Aysu woke up in a bed inside a small room that contained nothing else. There was a window on the side wall, and a door on the wall opposite of where the bed was located. She got up and went through the door, which led into the kitchen, which was a slightly larger room with a table and chairs, counters, stove and refrigerator. Sitting at the table was the group of travelers, minus the girl who was taken hostage.

"Ah, so you're finally awake." Fai said with a smile and a wave.

"What the hell are you all doing here?! This is my place!" Aysu shouted at the group of people she really wasn't in the mood to deal with.

"Well, we couldn't stay in that mansion any longer, especially with you in the condition you were in, so we asked Innya to take us somewhere safe. She led us here, then left." Syaoran explained.

"Tch. Figures!" Aysu said as she took a seat at the table with the rest of them. Dreading whatever conversation was to follow.

"Now would be a good time for thanks." Fai said to the assassin.

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Aysu said, eyeing the magician.

"Well, if he hadn't forcefully taken the antidote from Innya, you'd be dead." Fai replied, while pointing to Kurogane, who just looked at the assassin with his usual expression.

"Whatever...." Was all Aysu would say. And with that, everyone went silent for a while.

"In any case, how shall we go about rescuing Miss Sakura?" Fai said with a smile.

"Well, since the Prince took her, wouldn't it be right to assume that she's being held in the palace, or wherever the royal family lives?" Kurogane said.

"That's right." Aysu replied. She had now put her feet up on the table and closed her eyes.

"So now we gotta infiltrate the palace and break out the princess." Kurogane stated with a smirk. He seemed to be enjoying his time here.

"That sounds about right." Fai said with a smile.

"While we're there, we can get the feather too. After all, it was the Princess who took it." Syaoran added.

"Good thinking. Mokona will lead us right to it." Fai stated.

"Oh? And how do you plan on getting inside?" Aysu said curiously, while slightly opening her eyes.

"Well.... We were hoping you'd help us out." Fai said with a smile.

"Why would I help you?" Aysu said, though she figured the blond guy probably already had a plan to sway her.

"Well, because if they have a feather, then the other Syaoran will be heading there as well. And once we have the feather, he'll come after us. You still want to catch him, don't you?" Fai replied with his usual smile. Aysu truly despised him.

"No point in arguing." The assassin said as she stood up. "But first we have to find Innya. Despite all that's happened, she's still my partner, so I have to include her on this. Especially since she still has to exact revenge on that strange child for killing Desya."  
"Sounds like a plan. Now let's go!" Kurogane with excitement.


	8. Chapter 8

Innya sat in the charred remains of what had once been her house

"Stupid… I hate this!" Innya yelled out as she shot some random animal that jumped above her in the trees. A squirrel fell to the ground, its head blown off. "I made a stupid mistake… Damn." She growled. Another shot rang out and a small blue bird fell too. Innya sighed.

**********

"Now where would Innya be?" Fai asked Aysu.

"Honestly, I have no idea. She always tries to hide her emotions from me, so I'm not really sure, nor do I care what she does when she's upset." Aysu shrugged. "The only thing we can do now is look for the smoke and fleeing villagers." Aysu suggested.

"What?" Syaoran questioned.

"You'll see." Aysu said with a sadistic grin.

**********

Innya sighed and looked back at the village that was still burning. It was the third wreckage she had created in the last hour. She frowned.

"Why do I still feel so remorseful? I did nothing wrong! It's alright to take family over a friendship! And maybe Desya was right.... Maybe Aysu _is_ just using me and plans to kill me when she's done… I mean, Desya did seem like he didn't want to leave...."

"Hey, you! Innya, come here!" The voice of a young boy called out as its owner approached the assassin. Innya turned around as a hand clasped down on her shoulder.

**********

Aysu had been walking up the road for a while; she was with Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and the thing they called Mokona. Suddenly, through the light, she saw a figure standing at the end of the road and she yelled out.

"Hey! Innya, come here!" Aysu ran up and grabbed the girl's shoulder, turning her around.

Aysu stepped back blinking at the woman she had grabbed. It was an old woman wearing a wig that she was showing to her grandchild. Aysu sweat-dropped. Definitely the wrong person. Aysu looked around with a frown. "Where the hell is she?" The assassin muttered.

**********

"Who are you?" Innya asked.

"I'm a messenger from the Crown Prince, and your brother." The young boy said through huffs.

"Desya! How is he? Where is he? Can I see him please!?" Innya burst out. Scaring the messenger back slightly.

"Y-you have to come with me if you want to see him. He'd like to see you too. And also the Prince wants to speak with you about something." He smiled welcomingly.

"So… I'll get to see Desya?" Innya asked hopefully.

"Yes, you will. And you'll be treated like royalty too!" The messenger grinned.

"Okay, as long as I can see my brother." Innya nodded, and left with the boy.

**********

"The villages haven't even been disrupted here…" Aysu sighed. "Where the hell is that girl?" Suddenly a little boy ran into Aysu. "Watch where you're going, twerp!" She growled. The kid took a step back. Then shook his head.

"Sorry Miss!" He said, "Uhm, anything I can to make you not mad anymore?" He looked up at her. Aysu was about to say no, but then stopped herself.

"Yes... You can. Have you seen a girl, around my height, with brown hair around here? She has lots of bandages on her…" Aysu looked at the kid who seemed to be deep in thought. "She carries around two white guns?" Aysu tried.

"Ah! Her! Yeah! She came through here! She was with some guy from the palace, one of the prince's messengers! She looked really excited about something…" The little boy grinned.

"Thanks kid. Now go home!" Aysu commanded.

"Yes Ma'am!" The boy replied, standing at attention. Then he turned around and ran off.

"Why the hell would she go with one of the prince's messengers?!" Kurogane growled, "Haven't we gone over the whole good-guy, bad-guy roles already?"

Fai smiled sadly. "The person she thinks is her brother is there, is he not?" They looked over to Aysu.

"Could she be manipulated into going to the castle just because her brother's there?" Syaoran asked.

"Easily." Was all Aysu said after a sigh.

"It looks like things have just gotten very complicated." Fai smiled. Aysu nodded.

"Well, let's go." Kurogane muttered.

Syaoran nodded. "We have to go save the princess." He added.

**********

"When can I see my brother!?" Innya yelled at the prince for the hundredth time.

"Patience, my dear. You'll be able to see him soon." The prince replied with a smile. Innya huffed as she slouched into the throne next to the prince. He smiled at her.

"Why did you want to see me, anyways? All I want is to be with my brother." Innya muttered.

"There are several reasons… But mainly because I need your help with something." The prince frowned.

"I'm warning you, my shot may stray if I'm not emotionally balanced. If anything bad has happened to my brother…" Innya let the prince fill in the blank. "We understand each other, right? You're Highness?" Innya smiled a child-like smile. The prince nodded.

"Do not worry. He'll be here momentarily." Was all the prince replied. A few moments later Desya walked into the room.

"Brother!" Innya said, her eyes lighting up. She jumped up and hugged him. "I was worried when you left me behind. I knew you'd come though!" Desya smiled and hugged his sister back.

"Trust me, if anything bad could have happened I wouldn't have left you behind. The prince assured me that he'd make things much better for you. I just have to work with him on poisons and stuff, and he wants something else too…" Desya stopped abruptly, knowing he had said too much. He looked up at the prince who smirked down at him. "But that's not important now. Let's go for dinner. Somebody will show you to your room?"

The prince smiled. "Actually, I will show you to your room." He said, as he stood from his thrown. His short black hair stood out against his tall pale figure. His blue eyes shone in the bright lights of the palace. He removed the dark robe he had been wearing and left it on the thrown. His dark, suit like outfit also caused his paleness to stand out. He held his arm out and grabbed Innya's hand as he walked by, gently leading her behind him.

"Why can't brother see me to my room?" Innya asked with a frown as they exited the room.

"He has some remedial task to do. Don't worry; he'll be attending dinner with us." The prince smiled.

"Great!" Innya grinned brightly, and the prince's smile grew. He opened the door to her room and led her inside.

Everything was navy blue or deep violet, and Innya sighed in awe as she ran and jumped up onto the bed.

"It's great!" she grinned, "Thanks so much!"

"It's a pleasure," The prince smiled. "Now I have to ask that you remain in your room until supper, I'll come to get you. Feel free to try on some of the outfits, everything in here is yours." He bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. Innya sat up, and looked over to the closet, which was literally so stuffed with clothes that the door wouldn't close. She got off the bed and walked over to it. Innya frowned.

"I can't wear this… I don't want to shame brother; but they're all dresses…" Innya whined. "I guess… this will do." She said with a sigh as she pulled out a simple black dress.

*********

Kurogane frowned as Fai fake whistled at him. Thirty some odd guards were lying on the ground unconscious, all dressed in the same black robes as the men from before.

"That wasn't very entertaining." Kurogane muttered.

"Come on, let's go. And be quiet." Aysu muttered. They walked through the halls, undisturbed for a while. Finally, they came upon a room where they heard Desya's voice.

"Why Innya?!" Desya whispered harshly to the prince. "Why not Aysu! She's just as strong!" The Prince frowned at Innya's brother.

"Well, besides the fact that Aysu has next to no weaknesses I can play off, Innya's family has an amazing history of genders. Unlike Aysu's. Only once in the last fifty years has a single girl been born in Innya's family. It's always fraternal twins, or a boy. Aysu's family, on the other hand, has a history of almost solid females. As a prince, or soon king, I need heirs. Innya can provide them. Not to mention she is a strong beautiful young woman." The prince smirked. It was Desya's turn to frown.

"She just turned eighteen! You're twenty-one!" Desya growled.

"My mother was eighteen when she married my father, who was forty-two. Consider it lucky. Now go get ready for dinner." The prince brushed Desya off.

"I won't let you have her. Whether I'm really her brother or not, it doesn't matter. You won't get her!" Desya growled.

"Ha! You stop me? From getting what I want? Stupid boy! I can just kill you and force her into marriage! The only difference is she'll be utterly miserable." Desya took a step back. "If you can get her to marry me, at least she may be somewhat content with it. But if you want her to go through your death all over again, be my guest. I'll definitely be her shoulder to cry on." The prince walked away. "Remember, you're a simple pawn, nothing more. I'm off to get Innya. Be ready in ten minutes." The prince walked around the corner, disappearing. Desya punched the wall, and stalked off in the other direction.

"What just happened?" Syaoran asked.

"I'm not sure…" Aysu muttered with wide eyes.

"Well, it seems Innya is in impending danger. Not to mention, we were correct in assuming that wasn't the real Desya. And that you're family's blood line doesn't appeal to royalty." Fai smiled, and Aysu glared.

"Then we have to move fast. Syaoran, you go with Fai after Desya. Kurogane, come with me." Aysu muttered as she ran in the direction of the prince, figuring that was also the direction of Innya. The rest of the group went in their appropriate direction as well.


	9. Chapter 9

INNOCENCE AND ANGER, CHAPTER 9

Innya sighed as she was lead by the Prince into a large room with a long decorated table. There were four seats prepared for the royal family and their guests. Already seated was the Princess, Ceren, who frowned as she finally noticed Innya's entrance. Innya glared back, but then smiled widely as she saw her brother Desya seated as well.

"Desya!" Innya exclaimed as she ran over to her brother.

"Innya, you look beautiful in that dress! Even if it is a bit out of character." Desya replied with a small laugh. Innya crossed her arms and pouted.

"Let me show you to your seat, my dear." The Prince said, as he took Innya's hand and sat her down across from Desya. The Prince sat to Innya's left, with Ceren across from him.

Dinner was served and the four of them began to eat.

**********

"Damn.... Looks like we're gonna have to wait." Kurogane complained. He and Aysu had followed the Prince to Innya's room, where the two left for dinner.

"There's no sense in ambushing them while they eat. All we want is to get Innya and Sakura, then hopefully find the feather. Killing the royal family would be a waste of time." Aysu explained.

"Coming from someone who enjoys killing so much?"

"Oh, please. Even I know that there's a time and place for everything. Despite all that's happened, the royal family keeps order in these lands. If they were to disappear, things would turn to chaos."

Kurogane stared at the assassin with curious eyes. "I don't get how you would find that a bad thing."

Aysu sighed. "Look, my job is to disturb the peace that these royals have so carefully kept in place. If there's no peace to disturb, I'm out of the job. Besides that, if I were to constantly kill for sake of killing, then eventually there'd be no one left."

"I see." Kurogane said with a smirk. "Despite our first impression, you're actually a pretty reasonable person."

Aysu ignored that comment, and continued on. "In any case, I think we should go wait in Innya's room. She's sure to be sent back there after dinner."

"Yeah." Kurogane agreed.

**********

"Tell me where Princess Sakura is!" Syaoran demanded as he held a lone guard at sword-point.

"Y-you mean the new prisoner? Sh-she's on the top floor.... In the dungeon...." The guard replied as he quivered with fear.

Syaoran then knocked out the guard and turned to Fai and Mokona. "Let's go."

"Yes. After all, there's nothing we can do here now. I'm sure Aysu and Kuro with take of things here once dinner is finished." Fai said with a smile.

Then the three of them left to find a way to the top floor.

**********

"Innya, you shouldn't slouch like that. Sit up straight." The Prince criticized with a soft smile.

Innya frowned, but complied after a nod from Desya.

"Well, it's not like anyone expects the likes of _you_ to know any manners." Ceren smirked. "My husband told me all about you and what you do for a living. Quite frankly, he was right to be ashamed."

Innya growled, and was about to say something, but the Prince cut her off. "Please, sister. Innya is my honored guest. I won't permit you to speak to her that way."

"Hmph." Was all Ceren said to response to her brother.

"Hey, can you tell me something?" Innya asked the Prince.

"What is it?"

"Why exactly have you called me here to be your special guest? It can't just be because I'm Desya's sister. And besides that, you're being a little _too_ nice to me."

"Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you." The Prince said with a smirk. "Innya, I have called you here so that you may become my bride."

"WHAT?!" Innya screamed as she quickly got to her feet. "_That's_ what you want with me?! Forget it!"

"Innya, please listen." Desya said as he stood up and walked over to his sister. "I know this is something you would rather not do, but you must."

"Desya...." Innya stared at her brother with wide, child-like eyes.

"There's a good life here for you. For _us_. I promise I'll be here to make things easier for you. Together, we'll live here in the palace where no one can harm us or seperate us." Desya reached out, and brought Innya into a hug. "You want that, don't you?"

"....Yes." Innya replied softly, while tears started to build up in her eyes.

"All you have to do is marry the Prince. Can you do that, Innya?"

Innya hesitated, thinking about how her parents had tried to marry her off in order to benefit themselves. But this was different. Innya had to do this in order to be with Desya. That's all that mattered to her. "I'll do it." Innya said simply. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks.

"I knew you'd come through for me, Innya." Desya said as he wiped away Innya's tears and embraced her tighter.

The Prince simply watched the scene with a smirk. Ceren openly displayed her displeasure of the whole situation though her facial expression. Then a guard came and whispered something into the Prince's ear. The Prince's eyes widened, and then he dismissed the guard.

"My darling Innya, I'm so glad you've agreed to marry me." The Prince said with a smile. "We shall have the wedding immediately. After that, you can take your time getting comfortable here. Now, I shall have one of the guards escort you to your room, as I have things to discuss with Desya and my sister. Unfortunately, I have to ask that you remain in your room until the wedding. I will sent a servant with your dress and everything else you require shortly."

"Okay...." Innya replied as she left the room with a guard by her side.

"What's going on, brother?" Ceren asked.

"It seems we have some unexpected guests. Aysu and those strange people are in the palace." The Prince explained.

"What?! I thought Desya said he took care of Aysu!"

"I did! Her and Innya were against each other when we left them. Aysu should have no reason to come here for someone who doesn't trust her anymore...."

"Perhaps they've come for the girl I took hostage." The Prince suggested.

All three of them remained within their own thoughts for a few minutes. Finally Ceren spoke. "In any case, If there's an assassin in here, how do you plan to have the wedding?"

The Prince smirked. "Silly Ceren, have you forgotten already?" Desya and the Princess started at the Prince with narrow eyes. "We can use the item you stole from your late husband to finish off the assassin."

"What?! But brother...."

"You know as well as I that no amount of guards will be enough to defeat Aysu. Especially since she's being backed up by those strange travelers. The feather is our only option."

**********

Innya quietly receded into her own thoughts, ignoring the guard who was accompanying her. She would be marrying the Prince tonight. All this was so sudden. She only wanted to be with Desya, and yet it had become so complicated. Innya still found it hard to understand why exactly she had to marry the Prince, but if Desya says it's necessary then she would do it. She would do anything for Desya.

Innya entered her room, and then guard left, closing the door behind her. It was then that Innya noticed she wasn't alone. "Who's there? Come out!" She demanded. Aysu and Kurogane stepped into view.

"Hey, Innya." Aysu said to her companion.

"What are you doing here?!" Innya yelled furiously.

"Keep your voice down, or someone will come." Aysu commanded.

"Let them come! After all, you're no friend of mine."

"Are you still upset about what happened the other day? God, you're a hopeless mess." Aysu sighed. "In any case, I've come to get you out of here. A palace is no place for someone like you or I. Now let's take what we want, and leave."

"You don't understand.... I can't leave. No.... This is the only way me and Desya can be together."

"What are you talking about? Look, the Prince is just using Desya to get to you! Don't let love for your brother blind you to the truth! He's going to force you into marriage and-"

"I know that already! And I'm prepared to make the sacrifice if it means being with Desya!"

Aysu's anger flared. "You foolish girl! You'd let yourself become the Prince's tool, just to be with someone who isn't even your brother?! Especially after you killed your parents over this same situation! You're a disgrace!"

"SHUT UP!" Innya yelled. "Desya is real! He's alive, and he's going to take care of me right here in this palace! I don't need you anymore!"

"That's _my_ line." Aysu said, forcing herself into a calm state. "If this is the way you want it, then fine. Just remember that while you abandoned me on false terms, I still came back to help you." With that, Aysu walked towards the door.

Kurogane went to follow then stopped and looked at Innya. "Get your loyalties straight. Your brother may have said she only sees you as a temporary asset, but she still came back for you. And despite everything she says, she actually cares about you. Figure out who your real friends are before you do something you'll regret."

With that, the two of them left Innya alone.

**********

"Have they been found yet?" The Prince asked Desya, who was temporarily commanding all the guards. It had been three hours since the Prince was informed of Aysu's presence in the palace.

"No.... But we should have expected this. While Aysu usually prefers a more direct attack, she _is_ an assassin after all." Desya replied.

"You're right. If she's after Innya, then she's probably just waiting for the right moment to strike." The Prince agreed.

"Are you still going through with the wedding tonight?" Desya asked.

"Yes. I can't afford to let an opportunity like this go to waste. During the ceremony, I will keep the feather with me, should anything happen." The Prince explained.

"I see. Then shall I go get Innya so that the ceremony can begin?"

"Yes. I shall change, and be right there." The Prince smiled with anticipation.

**********

"My, my. There sure are a lot of stairs." Fai jokingly complained.

"Yes, but we have to keep going to rescue the princess." Syaoran stated as he continued to run up the stairs as fast as he could.

"I wonder how Aysu and Kurogane are doing." Mokona said.

"They're probably going about things carefully." Syaoran replied. "Afterall, if they were fighting, I'm sure we would have heard some kind of indication."

"Syaoran's right. I'm sure they're just fine." Fai said with a smile.

"Okay..." Mokona sighed. But the suddenly its eyes grew wide. "Guys! The feather's being moved, I can feel it!"

"We'll worry about that later. Rescuing Sakura comes first." Syaoran commanded.

**********

"Are you nervous, Innya?" The Prince asked his soon-to-be wife.

"Um, just a little." Innya said uncomfortably.

"Well, in any case, it's a beautiful ceremony, don't you think?"

Innya didn't respond. The wedding was being held in one of the palace's gardens. There was a pond, and large bushes which contained many different colored flowers. The pathway upon which they walked was also lined with brightly colored flowers. The Prince was wearing a white suit with silver trimming, and a red rose attached to the front. Innya wore a long gown that was strapless with many silver beads which formed a lovely pattern. Her hair had been put up in a fancy bun by one of the servants, and a long veil floated behind her. She was wearing just enough make-up that made her look slightly more beautiful than usual, and held a bouquet of red roses in her hands. The high-heels that had been placed on her feet made it difficult to walk.

Innya glanced around at the crowd. It was rather small, though she supposed the Prince only invited close friends and acquaintances of high status. Desya sat at the very front of the crowd. As soon as they made eye contact, he smiled and waved. His support made Innya smile as well, and it made her nervousness go away slightly.

Innya and the Prince stood at the center of the altar that had been placed in the garden. The priest went through all the customary rituals of a wedding, though Innya had become spaced out. She started thinking about what Kurogane had said about figuring out who her real friends are, though she quickly dismissed the thought. Of course it was Desya who was her real friend. Innya knew Aysu well enough to know that as soon as a person's usefulness died, she would get rid of them. Desya was the only one who would truly care about her.

Innya jumped a bit when she heard the priest's voice. "Do you, Prince Domenic, take Innya to be your wife?"

"I do." Was the Prince's reply.

"Do you, Innya, take-" But the priest was cut off by a loud explosion coming from behind them. Everyone went into a frenzy trying to identify the source of the exposion, which was hidden by lots of smoke. Then they all heard a voice that Innya recognized immediately.

"LISTEN UP, ASSHOLES! THE WEDDING STOPS HERE!" Aysu yelled at the crowd, as she stood on a tall post that no one seemed to notice before.

While the others ran away in fear, Innya, Desya, Ceren, and the Prince stared wide-eyed at the scene. It took Innya a moment to realize that her wedding had just been crashed by her ex-best friend.

"Aysu, what the hell IS this?! YOU'RE crashing MY wedding?! That's just screwed up in so many ways!" Innya exclaimed.

"The only thing that's screwed up here is the fact that you've been in not one, but _two_ different dresses in one day." Aysu said with a sadistically playful smile. "It's about time I saved your sorry ass, not to mention every shred of your dignity."

"Aysu...." Was all Innya could say. She had been rendered speechless.

Then Kurogane stepped forward as well. "C'mon, it's time to go."

Innya just stared at the two.

**********

"Princess Sakura! Are you alright?" Syaoran asked as he approached the cell in which the Princess was being held.

"Yes, I'm fine." Sakura replied. Syaoran then used his sword to cut through the bars, releasing the young girl.

"We should hurry. It sounds like Aysu and Kuro-chan have started things without us." Fai said with a smile. But then he froze as his blue eye started to glow.

"What is it, Fai?" Mokona asked with a worried tone.

"_He's_ here...." Fai said in a voice that was no more than a whisper as he turned around.

Syaoran and Sakura heard the footsteps before they saw the actual person. Walking up towards them was none other than the copy Syaoran.


	10. Chapter 10:Final!

"Well, this won't do." The Prince growled at Aysu, who had begun walking towards his fiancé. "This won't do at all. Ceren, go deal with our interruption." Prince Dominic commanded his sister, who sighed irritably. The Prince turned on the priest. "I have to ask that you be patient a minute, and we'll be right there." He said with an authoritative smirk. The priest nodded submissively.

"Don't be ridiculous! Innya's coming with us!" Aysu yelled as she reached out to her companion. "Right, Innya? Come on, let's get out of here."

"But Aysu..." Innya stuttered.

"Don't bother arguing! You're coming with me whether you like it or not!" Aysu barked at her friend.

But then the Prince came up, grabbed Innya by the arm and dragged her away from Aysu. "Get her, men." He commanded. Then a large group of guards came forward and charged at Aysu and Kurogane with swords and spears drawn. Kurogane swiftly drew his sword and instantly took out about half of them with movements too fast for the eye to see. Then Aysu swung her whip, which sliced apart the rest of the Prince's men.

"Heh. Too easy." Kurogane boasted with a grin.

"Enough games. This ends now." Aysu stated as she slowly approached Innya and the Prince.

The Prince smirked. "I fully agree." Then he held out his right hand, and into it materialized the feather. Aysu and Kurogane's eyes widened with surprise, as they both brought their guard up.

"Hand that over. It belongs to the Princess." Kurogane growled.

"But it doesn't appear that way, does it?" The Prince smirked. "Ceren? What are you doing? I thought I told you to take care of these people." He turned around to look at his sister, only to see her throw one of the chairs from the wedding at his head. The chair broke apart upon impact, sending Prince Dominic to the ground along with the pieces of wood. The feather fell from Dominic's hands, and Ceren picked it up.

"Stupid brother.... This is the last time you will ever tell me what to do!" Ceren exclaimed. Aysu, Kuroane, Innya and Desya stared with shock. "Now that the feather is mine, I will rule this kingdom! And now you can die, bro-" Ceren stopped as a gunshot was heard and pain filled the chest of the Princess. Blood trickled down her chest from the fresh wound she had just received, staining her elegant dress. She looked down at her brother, who was now sitting up, and still holding the black handgun that was used to shoot his sister.

"How amusing.... Forgive me, dear sister, but anyone who betrays me must die." The Prince said with an amused smile. Ceren then fell to the ground, dead. Dominic collected the feather as he stood up, with blood flowing down the side of his face, and onto his white suit. "What a mess she caused.... Now I have to change clothes when we resume the wedding."

"How presumptuous of you." Aysu stated.

"What a bastard.... Killing his own sister." Kurogane muttered through gritted teeth. Aysu didn't respond. Innya and Desya just stared.

**********

"You!" Syaoran exclaimed as he instantly moved in front of Sakura protectively.

"Syaoran-kun..." Sakura whispered with a sad expression. Fai got into a ready position, while Mokona sat on the wizard's shoulder.

"The feather is nearby. I can feel it." The copy Syaoran said with an unchanging expression and an empty voice as usual. Then he suddenly summoned his sword, and busted a whole into the side of the tower with an attack of flames. He then jumped through it, and headed in the direction of the gardens.

"Wait! Come back here!" Syaoran yelled as he too jumped through the hole in the tower and chased after the copy of himself.

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura called out, though it was unclear which one she was calling for.

"Sakura-chan." Fai said as he held out his hand to her. "Let's go." Sakura took hold of the magician's hand, and he lifted her into his arms, as he jumped out of the tower and followed the two Syaorans.

**********

"Now, where were we?" The Prince paused for a moment. "Ah, yes. Aysu, you and your strange friend are next."

"Take your best shot." Aysu said confidently, though deep down she knew that if the Prince used the feather - which he most likely would - then she wouldn't stand a chance. After all, Aysu had no idea how to fight off magic.

"Wait! Dominic, it doesn't have to be this way!" Innya said as she ran up to her fiancé.

"Oh? Then what do you propose we do?" The Prince inquired.

"I'll get them to leave, and if they promise to never bother us again, will you let them live?" Innya practically begged.

"Sorry, Innya, but that's not an option." Aysu stated loudly. "I came here to get you, and I'm not leaving until you've come to your senses."

"As for me," Kurogane started. "I'm in this too deep to back down now. You're coming with us, and that's final."

"Will you all just stop?!" Desya yelled out. Everyone turned their eyes to Innya's brother, who had been silently observing up until now. "Stop trying to tell Innya what to do. Can't you see how much pain it's causing her?" All eyes were on Innya now, who was nearly in tears.

"Oh, please...." Aysu said. "You're one to talk aren't you _big brother_. Innya told me that the only reason she agreed to this wedding was because _you_ said she had to. What's making her sad is the fact that she knows the best thing for herself is to come with me, but she loves her brother so much that she can't choose between the two of us."

"What's your point?" Desya demanded.

"You say you care about Innya, but you're just thinking of yourself. If you really want what's best for Innya, you'd get her out of this damned place! At least that's what the _real_ Desya would do!"

Suddenly a gunshot was heard, and then Aysu was pushed by Kurogane who yelled, "Look out!" The bullet went through Kurogane's armour and pierced his left shoulder.

"You idiot! What the hell was that?!" Aysu yelled at the samurai.

"Yell at me later, and keep your guard up now." Kurogane commanded.

"Tch! I don't need to be told that..." Aysu muttered, feeling a little embarrassed.

"My patience with you two has run out. It's time for you to die." Prince Dominic stated as the feather in his hands started to glow.

"No, stop!" Innya shouted.

But before the Prince could do anything, a large amount of flames came down from the air towards him. Dominic quickly moved out of the way, avoiding the flames, which caused an explosion where they met the ground. Everyone looked up to find the source of the attack. Then the figure of a young boy could be seen, as he flew through the air and landed not too far away from Prince Dominic.

"You...!" Aysu, Kurogane and Innya all exclaimed in unison as they gazed upon the copy of Syaoran.

"Finally, I've found it. Now give me the feather." The heartless being demanded.

"I don't think so. This feather is mine, boy." The Prince replied.

"I see. Then I must eliminate you." The copy Syaoran said as he slowly began to approach the Prince.

"WAIT!" The true Syaoran yelled as he too descended from the sky, followed by Fai and Sakura. "I won't allow you to continue any further!"

For a while, everyone stood in a silent dead-lock. With so many foes, no one dared make a move without careful consideration.

"Damn... This is going to get messy." Aysu muttered. Then a gunshot was heard and the copy Syaoran dodged a bullet that came from Innya's direction. All eyes turned to the Prince's fiancé, who's expression had undergone a tremendous change.

"You're the one who tried to kill Desya...." Innya stated in a voice that echoed with pure rage. "You monster....I'LL KILL YOU!" Innya screamed as she ripped off enough of her wedding dress to be able to move, and started shooting at the young boy. The copy Syaoran dodged every bullet with incredible speed and agility.

"_RAITEI SHORAI_!" Syaoran exclaimed as he appeared behind his copy. Flames spouted from his now materialized sword, and shot towards the other Syaoran. Using Fai's magic, the image created a shield of magic, which defended him from Syaoran's attack. Innya shot a few bullets, but those were also deflected by the shield.

In the meantime, Prince Domenic used the magic of the feather to manipulate the ground, turning pieces of earth into a group of large golems. On the Prince's command, they charged at the rest of the intruders. Aysu and Kurogane doged the golem's punches and kicks with little difficulty, and used their respective weapons to slice away parts of the golems. However, no matter how many times they attacked, the golems were put back together by the power of the feather.

"Damn... we can't go on like this!" Aysu muttered.

"Hey, Kuro-poooo! Aysu-chaaaan!" Fai echoed out. "Rather than attacking the golems, don't you think you should take out the one holding the feather?"

"What did he just call me...?" Aysu muttered through gritted teeth, and a furious expression.

"I can figure that out for myself, you bastard! It's not as easy as it looks! Now either do something yourself or shut up!" Kurogane yelled at his friend.

"But... I'm protecting Sakura-chan here." Fai said with a smile. As if on cue, a group of the Prince's soldiers came charging out towards Sakura and Fai. Fai picked up the princess and began dodging assaults from the soldiers. After a while he placed Sakura on the ground, stole a spear from one of the soldiers and began fighting back.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Innya screamed out as she furiously shot at the young boy who had killed her brother. Not a single shot hit him, and he responded by throwing flames and spells at the young assassin. Innya could dodge the flames, but the spells were another matter. The wounds she had received so far weren't severe, but things could get bad if the fight continued in this way, both for her and the true Syaoran.

"Innya-san... We need to work together in order to win this!" Syaoran called out.

"Screw off; I don't need your help! This is my fight, so just stay out of the way!" Innya yelled. In an instant, she reloaded her gun, and took aim at the copy Syaoran. However, the image disappeared. Before Innya could respond, he appeared behind her, sword raised, and brought it down.

"Innya-san!" Syaoran exclaimed.

Innya's eyes widened with shock, as she found herself gazing upon a familiar scene. The blood of her brother was once again being spilt, as the boy's sword tore through his body with ease. "DESYAAA!" Innya exclaimed as she caught her wounded brother just before he fell to the ground. "Desya! Hang on! Please....Please don't die! DESYA!"

All other activity stopped. The Prince's focus turned to his struck servant. Aysu and the group of travelers stared with worry at their friend, and the copy of Syaoran simply paused to observe the scene.

"Innya... There's.... nothing to... cry about." Desya managed to say. "I... love you. All I wanted... was to be with you..."

"What are you talking about? You're my brother, of course we'll always be together." Innya said through heavy tears.

"Innya... I can no longer... lie to you." Desya continued. "I am not... your brother. I am his clone... he was killed... by that boy..."

"What..." Innya's eyes widened with shock, and her body froze as she took in what was just said.

"But even so... I still... loved you... and I wanted to be... what Desya was to you... Innya, I'm... sorry..." With those last words, Innya felt Desya's body go limp as his life fadded away.

"DESYAAAAAA!" Innya cried out as tears flooded down her face, and she tightly embraced the last remains of her brother.

"Just as I said. This wasn't the real Desya." Aysu said with no emotion whatsoever.

"What a useless servant." The Prince said, while stepping forward. "All he needed to do was follow my every command. Yet he succumbed to foolish emotions and got himself killed. It's hard to believe that such a perfect creation failed like that."

Innya's eyes filled with rage. "Don't you... DARE INSULT DESYA LIKE THAT!" In an instant, Innya raised one of her guns and shot at the Prince. He dodged, but then the copy Syaoran appeared behind him.

"The feather will be mine." The copy Syaoran said as the blade of his sword caught fire, and he brought it down upon the Prince. Domenic used the power of the feather to create a shield, which defended against Syaoran's sword, and then used it as a counter attack. The Prince's own energy, as well as that which was used against him, shot at the copy Syaoran, slightly wounding him and sending him flying.

"Don't get too confident!" Innya shouted as she shot the Prince in the shoulder, now that he had been distracted. The Prince let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees, but that was not the end. Aysu ran up and swung her whip at the Prince, who tried to dodge, but still got his left arm cut off. Prince Domenic screamed in agony as he fell to the ground with blood pouring from his wound.

The copy Syaoran moved to finish off the Prince, but then Innya appeared in front of him and started shooting at the boy. "Don't think I'll let you get away!" Then the true Syaoran approached the copy as well, and the two became engaged in a swordfight, while Innya shot her guns from a distance.

"I'll end this now!" Aysu exclaimed as she once again swung her whip at the Prince. Using what little strength he had left, the Prince created a shield to protect himself.

The Prince was now breathing heavily, and he had become very pale from the blood loss. His eyes had widened, and his expression had changed almost to the point of insanity. "No...No one but me will have the feather! I'll use the feather to rule this world... I WON'T LET ANYONE FOIL MY PLANS!"

But at that moment, Fai stepped forward. "Sorry, but I'm afraid we can't allow that... Your Highness." Fai said with a grin as he held up his index and middle fingers together to gather magic there, and used it to disable the shield Prince Domenic cast. Then Kurogane and Aysu stepped forward as well.

"Okay, buddy, time to hand over the feather." Kurogane said as he put his sword to the Prince's throat.

"N-no.... Leave me alone... I refuse to give up the feather!" The Prince stuttered. He raised his hand that held the feather in an attempt to use magic, but nothing happened.

"It seems that the bullet Innya shot into you was poisoned." Aysu stated. "Between that and your lost arm, you can't fight anymore. Now this ends for real.

The Prince whimpered and quivered with fear.

"Wait." A female voice came from behind. Aysu, Kurogane and Fai turned around to see Sakura standing not too far away. "There's no need to kill him. All we need to do is take the feather from him, and we can all leave."

"As you wish." Fai said with a smile. Kurogane sighed in submission.

"Speak for yourselves." Aysu said to the group of travelers. "This guy's done more than I can forgive. Take the feather if you want it so much, but don't think you'll be able to stop me from killing him."

For a moment Sakura and Aysu simply stared at each other. Then Sakura diverted her eyes to the ground. "I see. Then at the very least, would please wait until after we have left?"

"Whatever." Aysu replied. But then she and the two men with her suddenly sensed the inhuman presence of the copy Syaoran, and then the Prince was cut in half by the young boy who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What the hell?!" Kurogane exclaimed, as he turned around to see the real Syaoan lying on the ground, covered in wounds while Innya, also wounded, was picking herself up.

The copy Syaoran went to take the feather, but Aysu swung her whip at him, causing the boy to jump back. Fai took Sakura into his arms, and moved away from the fighting. Kurogane engaged the fake Syaoran in a sword fight, while Aysu simply waited for an opening to strike with her whip.

"You bastard....STOP IGNORING ME!" Innya shouted as she held up her left hand, and in it was the feather.

"Innya, what the hell are doing?!" Aysu exclaimed.

"This is what you want right? Well, come and fight me for it! You killed my brother.... And for that I will destroy you!" Innya shouted at the image of Syaoran.

"She's crazy..." Kurogane muttered.

The fake Syaoran, hell-bent on accomplishing his goal, accepted Innya's challenge and headed in her direction. As he grew near, Innya once again started shoot at the boy, who continued to dodge as always. He swung his sword, and flames shot out in Innya's direction. Innya jumped, but then she felt a rush a pain as that Syaoran's sword pierced her leg. Innya was taken aback that Syaoran had actually thrown away his weapon for a chance to kill her. As she fell to the ground, Innya could see the young boy coming up to her, with his hand raised and surrounded by magic symbols. Innya knew she was in no position to defend herself in that off-guard moment. But then a person appeared in front of Innya, and received the blow instead. Innya stared wide-eyed at the back of Aysu, as the fake Syaoran's hand went right through her body, splashing blood on Innya.

"AYSU!" Innya shouted from the ground where she fell with Syaoran's sword still in her leg.

The fake Syaoran's eyes widened, as he was surprised to have struck a different opponent. Aysu smirked as blood flowed from her mouth. "Damn it... I really screwed up this time.... Forgive me, Desya..." Then she held up a black gun which was identical to Innya's white guns at the copy Syaoran's forehead and shot.

_(Desya 15 years, Aysu 17 years)_

_"Here Aysu, take this please." Desya said as he handed Aysu a black handgun._

_"This looks like Innya's guns." Aysu said as she took the gun from Desya and looked it over. "Stupid. You know I don't use these. This should be for Innya."_

_"No, I want you to have it. In case you find yourself in a tight spot, this can be your ace in the hole." Desya said with a smile._

_"You doubt my skills?" Aysu said while eyeing Desya._

_"Of course not! It's just that... I worry about you and Innya all the time. It would make me feel much better if you carried this around."_

_"Hmph! What a ridiculous waste of sentiment." Aysu scoffed._

_"Well... At the very least, it can be... a birthday present." Desya said shyly. _

_Aysu's face went red and her anger flared. "How did you find out when my birthday is?!" She shouted as she shoved the gun at Desya's throat. _

_"W-well... Innya told me..." Desya said carefully._

_"That little brat..." Aysu muttered as she released Desya and tried to regain her composure. "Well, in any case, I have work to do, so I'll be leaving now."_

_"W-wait! Aysu, I was hoping to ask... a favour of you..." Desya called out nervously._

_"Oh? Like what?" Aysu asked curiously._

_"Aysu, would you please stay with Innya and me forever?" Desya said with a more firm expression._

_"Huh?!" Aysu exclaimed, taken aback. "Why the hell would you ask something like that?" _

_"Well, it's just that both Innya and I enjoy having you around. And I think that you're a good influence on Innya, and I know she needs you. But you can be so unpredictable at times, so I want you to promise me that you'll always stay with Innya at the very least."_

_Aysu's eyes narrowed as she observed Desya closely. "Is this really just about Innya?" _

_Desya hesitated for a moment then said: "It's just that... I have a feeling I won't be around for too long. And I want to make sure things are taken care of in case something happens to me. And besides that... I really like you."_

_Aysu's eyes widened with shock and her face became red and flustered at the unexpected confession. "What... Desya, that's..." But before Aysu could regain her train of thought, Desya had moved up against Aysu's body and placed a soft kiss on her lips. The two stood there together for what seemed like an eternity, until Desya pulled away from Aysu. The assassin stared at Desya with wide eyes and an unusually childish and innocent expression. _

_Desya smiled timidly. "Happy Birthday, Aysu." _

_(End)_

The force of the point blank assault sent the image Syaoran back a few steps, removing his hand from Aysu's abdomen. Both fighters began to fall towards the ground. Aysu was caught by Kurogane, who had rushed over to the scene, followed by Innya and the rest of his friends.

"Hey woman, are you alright?!" Kurogane shouted as he and Fai examined Aysu's wound.

Just behind the copy Syaoran, a long black dimensional break appeared, and from it came a tall man with black hair and glasses.

"It's Kyle-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes, that's right." Kyle said with a smirk. "Unfortunately, I'm only here to pick this guy up, and take him back with me." The doctor explained as he picked up the copy Syaoran.

"Wait, you bastard!" Kurogane shouted.

"Until we meet again." Kyle said as he retreated into the break between dimensions with the image of Syaoran.

The group of travelers remained in silence, as they digested what just happened. They knew that if Kyle had showed up, then Fei-Wang was moving his plots forward. However, their thoughts were interrupted by Innya's sobs.

"Aysu... Aysu... Say something, please...." Innya called out through tears. She attempted to mend Aysu's wound, but to no avail. The wound was fatal.

"Innya... Would you shut up already..." Aysu replied in a voice that was no more than a whisper. "After all.... I'm just a fool who let my feelings get the better of me..."

"Please don't talk like that, Aysu." Innya sobbed.

"No... It's true. After my parents sold me... in order to get the money they needed to leave our poor village, I swore I would never grow attached to anyone ever again... But I let you and Desya get close to me... And now look at me..."

"Oh, Aysu, I'm so sorry!" Innya said to her friend.

"Don't apologize Innya... It's not your fault. I once made a promise to Desya that I would stay with you always, if he couldn't... But it looks like I let him down... I let both of you down..."

"Aysu..."

"Forgive me, Innya... But it looks like... I'm off to see Desya... Farewell... My friend." With those last words, Aysu's body went limp.

For a long time, Innya sat on the ground with Aysu's corpse in her arms. The group of travelers simply watched her, waiting for the young girl to say or do something. The events that took place while they were there weighed heavily upon them. Innya had lost her best friend, and witnessed her brother die twice. They knew her life would never be the same again.

"Innya-san..." Fai said quietly as he stepped towards the assassin. "How about we get your wounds treated?"

"Why? What's the point? I've got nothing now.... Why should I even continue living?" Innya replied without so much as looking at the magician. "Why... Why... WHYYYYY!"

"Innya-san, please calm down!" Syaoran called out.

"Screw off! Stay away from me! LEAVE ME ALOOOOONE!" As Innya screamed, the feather in her hands began to glow. The light became so bright it seemed to consume everything within sight.

"What the hell's going on?!" Kurogane exclaimed.

"Her emotions are running wild, and the feather is reacting to them!" Fai explained. "At this rate... The world we're in now will be completely destroyed!"

"We have to stop her!" Sakura cried out.

"It's.... Too late..." Fai stated regrettably. "Mokona! Hurry up and get us out of here!"

"O-okay..." Mokona replied as wings came out from its back, and magical symbols appeared around it. The white creature's mouth opened, and consumed the group of travelers before disappearing itself.

**********

"Yuko, what happened?" The black twin of Mokona asked the Space Time Witch.

"The girl was simply too fragile. She couldn't accept the misfortunes that had come to her, and lost her mind."

"Is Innya dead?"

"Yes. The power of the feather completely destroyed her, along with that entire world. It, and the people who lived there no longer exist, and the feather has been lost forever."

"Why, Yuko? Why did that have to happen?"

"It was the only possible result.... When Innocence and Anger clashed."


End file.
